Los Angeles Clippers Owner Steve Ballmer sat down with Forbes Senior Writer Jabari Young at the NBA All-Star Tech Summit to talk about the progress on the Clippers new home the Intuit Dome, the future of streaming in sports, and the two things that worry him in the U.S. economy.
0:00 Introduction
0:14 What Steve Ballmer Has Learned At The NBA Tech Conference
1:43 Steve Ballmer's Sports Inspirations
4:48 Construction On Ballmer's New Arena: What's New?
8:35 Ballmer On Vital Partnerships
9:59 Geo-Politics And How That Plays Into Major Sporting Events And Venues
12:03 Steve Ballmer On His Success And Fortune
14:27 From Steve Ballmer: What Makes A Good Tech Company vs. A Great One?
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0:00 Introduction
0:14 What Steve Ballmer Has Learned At The NBA Tech Conference
1:43 Steve Ballmer's Sports Inspirations
4:48 Construction On Ballmer's New Arena: What's New?
8:35 Ballmer On Vital Partnerships
9:59 Geo-Politics And How That Plays Into Major Sporting Events And Venues
12:03 Steve Ballmer On His Success And Fortune
14:27 From Steve Ballmer: What Makes A Good Tech Company vs. A Great One?
Subscribe to FORBES: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?sub_confirmation=1
Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:
https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript
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More From Forbes: http://forbes.com
Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.
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SportsTranscript
00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:02 Here at the 2024 NBA All-Star Game in Indiana,
00:06 the 24th annual NBA Tech Summit.
00:08 And I am joined by the ninth richest person in the world,
00:11 Steve Ballmer.
00:12 How are you doing, sir?
00:12 Good.
00:13 Good.
00:13 Thanks, Jabari.
00:14 I appreciate it.
00:15 Listen, I was watching you on stage.
00:17 And when I come to these events from time to time,
00:20 I'm always curious to find out what people are learning.
00:22 What is the most important thing you've
00:24 learned at the Tech Summit this year?
00:26 Yeah.
00:27 I mean, we're the second panel.
00:29 But I'm already learning about just from our panelists.
00:34 We've got folks from Google and Amazon and ESPN.
00:38 OK, how are they really thinking about what's
00:40 the future of streaming?
00:41 Are they thinking about innovation?
00:43 And that's on my own panel.
00:45 I'm going to go back in.
00:47 And next guy up right now is a really genius guy
00:52 I worked with at Microsoft, Eric Horvitz.
00:55 OK, he's on the pulse of what's going on in AI.
00:58 He'll be able to tell us where things are going.
01:01 I'm staying for the following panel.
01:03 And there are a lot of nuggets, not just
01:07 about deeply technical issues, but how people
01:11 are thinking about problems.
01:12 Yeah, I was just at the ITI in DC at their conference.
01:15 And one role that's coming online,
01:17 chief AI officers, how companies have to prepare for them.
01:20 Chief AI-- or do you have a chief AI officer
01:22 at the Clippers' head?
01:23 And if not, are you going to hire one?
01:25 We don't.
01:26 Now, we do our own stuff, but we rely for Core Tech on the NBA.
01:32 So each owner gets a chance to push a little bit
01:36 on the people doing R&D at the league.
01:39 I will bet they'll have a chief AI officer sooner than later.
01:43 You need them.
01:44 You need them.
01:44 Hey, we're in February now, so I don't
01:46 want to let the month escape us.
01:48 Black History Month is this month.
01:50 When you think about-- outside of the notable names,
01:52 the Martin Luther Kings of the world,
01:53 but when you think about a figure that
01:55 may have inspired you throughout your life,
01:57 when Black History Month, who pops the mind?
02:00 Throughout my life means go back to childhood.
02:06 I'd honestly say Muhammad Ali, actually.
02:09 Now, that partly shows you my age,
02:11 but sort of the way he brashly sort of showed up on stage
02:17 and was sort of true to what he believed.
02:22 May be an odd choice, but I'd certainly put him on my list.
02:25 I think it's a great choice.
02:26 Had a chance to go to a game the other day with Mr. Martin
02:30 Luther King III.
02:32 That was inspiring, because it's sort
02:35 of like this small connection.
02:36 He's a wise man, really has a lot of wisdom and goodwill
02:41 to help others himself.
02:44 I got to say, that was cool, even though I just met him.
02:47 Absolutely.
02:48 Well, listen, let's get into the business.
02:50 The last time me and you spoke, you
02:51 were going through this decision of whether to put
02:54 40 locker sneaker stalls or 20.
02:56 And you were going back and forth with the number.
02:58 What did you decide on?
02:59 Because you're only a few months before you
03:01 got to open this arena, so you have to have that number.
03:04 What did you decide on?
03:05 I believe we shook out at 36.
03:07 36.
03:08 Isn't that compromising?
03:09 No, no, it's not at all.
03:11 We sort of looked at the guys who
03:13 have the most shoes at their locker
03:14 in their current practice facility,
03:16 and we kind of built off that.
03:18 Well, now you have James Harden, so I'm sure he probably
03:20 takes the cake with that.
03:21 Him and PJ Tucker, actually.
03:23 PJ's a lot of shoes guy.
03:27 Yeah, absolutely.
03:27 Yes, he has his own warehouse, though, so we need the stalls.
03:31 Looking into that, though, and also the last time I saw you,
03:33 you weren't the happiest, because I
03:35 think you guys were getting-- you lost the Nuggets
03:37 without their MVP, right?
03:38 And I looked at your face all the game.
03:40 You were just red.
03:41 But now you should be smiling, right?
03:43 The team is in a good spot, third place in the West
03:45 as we speak right now in competition, right?
03:48 And they could very well finish number one.
03:50 You liking what you see with this roster,
03:52 and do you feel more comfortable about your title chances?
03:54 Yeah, well, I think our team has improved.
03:58 We've improved by the addition of James.
04:00 I can't remember whether he had joined us yet at that time.
04:04 The guys now seem to know how to play together,
04:08 and yet we know we have room for improvement.
04:12 Kawhi Leonard, in a comment the other day, said, yeah,
04:16 we can improve for sure.
04:18 We're winning as individual stars,
04:21 but we have more opportunity to come together and play
04:24 better as a group.
04:25 Guys all get along, so it's just a question
04:27 of how to continue to improve as five guys.
04:31 Yeah, I've covered Kawhi throughout his career.
04:33 I can't believe he said all of that.
04:34 I mean, this is a guy who's very small, but he says this.
04:38 Speaking of your arena, you are a few months
04:40 before this opens, right?
04:41 Take me into the dome.
04:43 What's happening?
04:44 Where you at?
04:44 I know the roof is finished.
04:45 Where is that construction process?
04:48 Well, if you were to ask me as a non-construction guy,
04:51 will they be done by the end of June, I'd say frickin' no way.
04:55 Now, they're all very confident, and they
04:58 say we're ahead of where a lot of other arenas
05:00 have been at this stage.
05:01 But we're starting to do finishes, for example,
05:04 in the suites.
05:06 The scoreboard is getting fully installed,
05:12 which is great for us.
05:15 We are still building out what we call our sunken garden.
05:18 There's a place for players, a training pool,
05:21 and some other things outside.
05:24 That's a big, big thing, because we
05:25 got to make sure all the underground work has
05:28 integrity for water and flow and the rest of that.
05:32 We got a torture test on waterproofing.
05:36 It's the heaviest rain season LA's had in years.
05:40 And guess what?
05:41 I welcome it.
05:42 It gives us a chance to see, OK, we needed
05:45 to increase these gutter sizes.
05:47 So I love that.
05:50 But the next generation markets we're building,
05:54 where you just grab and go, you can
05:56 see some of those completely finished at this stage.
05:59 Pretty cool.
06:00 I'm looking forward.
06:01 The next All-Star game I attend will be 2026.
06:03 I'm skipping next year, because I'm going right to 2026.
06:06 I want in that dome.
06:08 Can you give us a preview of what's to come?
06:10 I mean, I know it's about a year and a half away, plus some.
06:13 But still--
06:14 No, we'll be open for next season.
06:16 Well, the All-Star game.
06:17 The All-Star game.
06:17 Yeah, what's to come in 2020?
06:19 Do you have any ideas flowing in your head
06:21 right now about what you're going to look
06:22 and what you're going to see?
06:23 Specifically for All-Star, I think
06:26 what we'd really want to do is use the board to light things,
06:31 to really do some-- it's a place where
06:34 we can do some crazier things, working with the league,
06:38 obviously.
06:39 Our wall of sound, 51 straight rows, steep, no break.
06:45 I think having a place where we can put together
06:49 the most intense fans of the league, the All-Star fans,
06:54 can bring an energy to the building.
06:57 All-Star is always fun, but getting a little bit
07:01 of crazy energy in there, I think
07:03 that that'll be good for All-Star game.
07:07 I don't know if the format's going
07:09 to continue to evolve, the league will tell us,
07:11 the league office.
07:13 But I think there's a-- because we have--
07:16 you have to look at what we build as a--
07:21 which I say, platform.
07:22 We have thought through the scenarios for how we're
07:25 a platform for the Clippers, and now also
07:28 for a platform for concerts.
07:30 The All-Star game, I'm sure there'll be extra innovation.
07:34 Listen, I hope this is all-- because when
07:36 I talk to other team CEOs and presidents,
07:37 I'm telling them, listen, Steve Baum's
07:38 going to blow you all out of the water with this arena
07:40 he's building.
07:41 I'm telling you, like, this--
07:42 y'all better get your act together.
07:44 I know the Sixers are trying to get their arena downtown,
07:46 and I'm telling them, you guys better get your act together.
07:48 So I'm really excited about this arena.
07:50 Yeah, I mean, we are partners.
07:52 We don't compete, but we're the most recent arena.
07:59 Somebody will race by us, and that is what it is.
08:03 But if there's some--
08:05 and do I think any--
08:06 everybody will say, oh, I like that innovation.
08:08 They're going to say, Baumer screwed that up.
08:10 I don't want to do that.
08:12 They're going to look at something in Milwaukee.
08:14 I mean, we want to--
08:15 I don't know, 20 or so of the arenas as part of the process.
08:19 And there's something you can steal from everybody
08:21 is a good idea.
08:23 I hope the next folks up go to a lot of arenas.
08:27 If there's some stuff from us, great.
08:29 I'll feel proud of that.
08:31 But there are going to be other innovations that people pick up.
08:34 Yeah, I had a chance to talk and look
08:36 at your panel for a little bit before coming in here
08:38 to meet you.
08:38 And one of the things you were talking about
08:40 is the streaming portion of it, right?
08:42 We know we're looking right now.
08:43 Amazon's in the mix.
08:45 Well, they're more in the mix.
08:46 They've already been in RSN because when
08:47 they were with the Yankees with the guest network.
08:49 And now you've got Fox and Disney and Warner Brothers
08:52 combining their own streaming services.
08:54 I talked to people about this, and they call it
08:56 the great re-bundling.
08:58 That's what they call it, the great re-bundling.
09:00 What do you see, and what are we looking at?
09:02 It is the great re-bundling.
09:03 That's a fair thing to say.
09:06 From the perspective of the content provider,
09:12 our job is innovation and audience.
09:15 That's our job.
09:17 The bundling is in the role of the distribution system.
09:23 And there's two parts to the distribution system.
09:26 The people who do the bundles and buy the rights,
09:30 and then the operators who run the cable connections or phone
09:35 connections or whatever.
09:37 And the relationship, I think, between the bundlers
09:41 and that ecosystem will change.
09:44 The relationship between the bundlers,
09:48 the leagues may do some things directly.
09:51 So how that all comes together in terms of bundles
09:54 and who's offering them and who's marking them,
09:57 there's a lot to be revealed.
09:58 Yeah.
09:59 You take it outside of sports for one second.
10:01 What are we looking at from a macroeconomics perspective?
10:03 I'm looking at two wars going on.
10:05 I see inflation is still there.
10:07 I know Microsoft and Oracle and Google,
10:10 you guys are competing for footprints
10:13 to serve the next generations of people.
10:15 There's data centers and all.
10:17 What are we at?
10:18 Where are we at in 2024?
10:19 And what still keeps Steve Ballmer up at night?
10:23 First of all, I'm not an economist.
10:26 But I do take economics.
10:28 I have a degree in economics, but I've never practiced.
10:33 But just from my read of the situation,
10:37 I think things actually are on a pretty good path economically.
10:46 But there are some big risks.
10:48 So you can be doing this, but there's
10:50 a chance to have these things, whether it's
10:52 from war or things change in the labor market.
10:56 Immigration can change the labor market.
10:59 But I have one big scary thing--
11:02 two big scary things on my mind as we think about the future.
11:06 One is, will we be able to save our planet as we know it
11:11 because of climate change?
11:14 And the second big thing on my mind
11:17 is the federal budget deficit.
11:19 $32 trillion?
11:20 Yeah.
11:21 I mean, it's extremely large at this stage.
11:25 I don't believe anything like that is sustainable,
11:28 nor do I think, by the way, either political party really
11:31 focuses on it.
11:34 One party wants to get rid of revenue,
11:37 one party wants to increase expenses.
11:39 But whether revenue goes down or expenses go up,
11:43 it doesn't shrink any deficits.
11:45 Yeah, we've got to obviously get that balance, right?
11:48 Is it the way you see it?
11:49 Yeah, probably for our country to stay sustainable.
11:54 And I'm not talking about climate now,
11:56 but from a financial perspective, yeah.
11:59 We need more taxes somehow, and we need less spending somehow.
12:03 All right, get you out of here.
12:04 We need both.
12:05 Two quick things before I let you go,
12:06 because I know you want to get back to the Tech Summit
12:08 and take some more notes.
12:09 The first being, when you look at Forbes.com
12:12 and you see your worth, what do you say to that?
12:15 You say, oh, that's wrong, right?
12:16 We got you at $120 billion, and you're
12:18 the night vision person.
12:19 Are we right on that?
12:21 Well, I'm never going to tell you if you're right or wrong,
12:23 because that's how you guys add your value.
12:26 What I will tell you is that it is--
12:30 look, I've been blessed.
12:31 And certainly, my lifestyle could be supported
12:38 by way less money than we have.
12:41 So our goal has to be to figure out
12:45 how to add value to people who more need it than we do,
12:50 whether it's supporting after-school programs
12:53 or mentoring programs or changes in the criminal justice laws
12:58 or more preschool for kids, working with government,
13:02 making investments in people who are pushing
13:05 for different kind of climate tax environment,
13:09 et cetera, to help improve the climate situation.
13:15 That's what our money is for at this stage.
13:18 We have to be a good steward of that.
13:21 Because it's not-- the one thing that changed my lifestyle
13:25 is being able to buy the Clippers
13:27 and build the Intuit Dome.
13:28 Yeah, absolutely.
13:29 And I'm so glad for that blessing.
13:32 But even those things, do we own them,
13:34 or are we just stewards for the fans
13:36 until the next generation of people buy them?
13:39 Stewards.
13:39 I think we're really stewards.
13:40 Yeah, you said in the past that you will never
13:42 sell your Microsoft shares.
13:44 Are you going to pass them and give them away?
13:45 Because you and your wife, you give a lot.
13:47 Well, I mean, there'll be certainly a big chunk of it
13:50 that will go to a foundation.
13:53 I would suspect we don't have one now.
13:55 But we give away money, but we don't have a foundation.
13:59 And some will go to our kids.
14:01 And the rest--
14:02 Pass them to me if he wants to.
14:03 The rest is going to go to federal government.
14:05 They need it.
14:06 They need it more than anybody.
14:07 Well, yeah.
14:07 So in a way, I'm happy to pay our taxes.
14:11 When we pass, I'm glad the government--
14:13 that's the wealth tax.
14:15 When we pass, half of what we want to give away--
14:19 well, it either goes to a foundation
14:22 or something goes to our kids.
14:23 And the federal government gets every bit as much
14:26 as we give to our kids.
14:27 Absolutely.
14:27 Get you out of here on this.
14:28 Good to great, Jim Collins' book.
14:30 I love that book, right?
14:31 What is the difference between a good tech
14:34 company and a great one in 2024?
14:38 Well, first and foremost, frankly, is you have to--
14:44 I don't know if you remember a movie called Woody Allen
14:47 or a line in it.
14:48 But they said this about relationships.
14:51 They're like sharks.
14:53 They either move forward or they die.
14:56 Tech companies are like sharks.
14:58 They either move forward or they die.
15:01 So really locking in to future innovations,
15:04 building on future innovations.
15:06 Not saying, oh, we only give our customers what they want.
15:10 No, you have to anticipate what they might want
15:13 that they can't dream about.
15:15 And I think that distinguishes a great tech company.
15:20 And you also have to listen to your customers.
15:22 Be accountable.
15:23 Make results.
15:24 You can't say it's either or.
15:27 There's a small chapter in one of the Collins books
15:30 called The Tyranny of Or.
15:32 I can either make a lot of money short term
15:36 or I can invest in the future.
15:38 Now, the great companies figure out how to do both.
15:41 That's what the Collins book said to me
15:43 in its most meaningful chapter.
15:44 Absolutely.
15:45 Steve Ballmer, I appreciate the time.
15:46 We've got to do this again because so much to talk about.
15:49 Generative AI and all this other stuff and protein bars.
15:51 And you still don't drink caffeine and all that stuff.
15:55 Yeah, so much to talk about it.
15:56 But good luck the rest of the way.
15:57 I know how tough it is and health and all that.
15:59 And hopefully you can raise that championship trophy.
16:02 Appreciate it.
16:03 Thanks, Jabari.
16:03 No problem.
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